Hurricanes cause travelers to rethink vacation plans

The four hurricanes
that ravaged the Bahamas, the Caribbean and Florida may have a
lingering effect on U.S. travelers plans to visit these regions,
according to a survey issued by Yesawich Pepperdine Brown &
Russell (YPB&R).

The study was
conducted three days after Hurricane Jeanne left Florida. It
revealed that 20% of those polled are less likely to visit Florida
between now and the end of 2004.

Twenty-three
percent said they are less likely to visit the Florida Panhandle
during this time period; 17% said they are less likely to visit
Orlando.

Island destinations
also may be hard hit. Between now and the end of the year, 25% of
respondents said they are less likely to visit the Dominican
Republic; Jamaica, 24%; the Bahamas Out Islands, 23%;
Nassau/Paradise Island, 22%; Puerto Rico, 22%; and Aruba,
20%.

The likelihood of
traveling to these locations may be impacted by the perception of
damage that these hurricanes have had on the
destinations.

For example, 59% of
those polled said that damage to the Florida Panhandle was extreme.
Forty-one percent said that damage to Jamaica was extreme;
Tampa/St. Petersburg, 34%; Orlando, 31%; and Miami, 27%.

Clearly, travelers
have been affected by the jarring television images they have seen
over the past six weeks as well as the duration of the media
coverage, said Peter Yesawich, chairman of YPB&R.

But as the story of
the regions recovery unfolds and winter approaches, were likely to
see these negative opinions dissipate quickly, particularly if
travel suppliers roll out attractive promotional offers to lure
visitors back.

Art Pfenning is
the research director for Northstar Travel Media, Travel Weeklys
parent company. For information on how research can help your
business, or if you are interested in having NTM Research conduct
your next project, contact Pfenning at tweditorial@ntmllc.com.